Hiro's Christmas Carol
by Puterboy1
Summary: My take on how a Christmas episode in Big Hero 6: The Series should go. Obviously based on A Christmas Carol where Tadashi's ghost takes Hiro on a journey through the past, present and future to help him learn how to have fun without him.


It was Christmas time in San Fransokyo. The Institute of Technology students, faculty and Professor Granville would soon be at home eating turkey and opening presents, but for Hiro Hamada, the recent death of Obake wasn't even enough for him to be happy; he was still missing the most important ingredient in his life: Tadashi. He had his friends (who were celebrating Christmas with their families), Aunt Cass (the only family he had left), Mochi and Baymax, but Tadashi (as he had seen him) was a necessity to keep his mental state from cracking up, regarding his late older brother as a spiritual guide to help him through the darkest of days and on this Christmas Eve, no matter how jolly or cheerful it was, he could not escape the darkness of Tadashi leaving him for a man he looked up to as a father, and that "father" murdered him by burning him alive.

"You should think about your friends more often," Aunt Cass said to him in the bedroom. "It will help you to get your mind off of…" she tensed, pausing. "You-know-who."

"Don't bother, Aunt Cass. I have my own distractions."

To be precise, he was sitting at his computer sketching some random inventions; notably a teleportation device or improvements on his newly-constructed microbots. Aunt Cass saw this as unhealthy.

"You have _got_ to get out with Baymax and do something Christmassy for a change, like giving charity to the poor."

"Being charitable is Tadashi's thing, not mine."

"I know, Hiro, and if only I had stopped him…all three of us would be celebrating Christmas together."

 _I only I had stopped him._ Those very words made Hiro shed a couple of tears. He sympathized with his aunt.

"It's my fault too," he confessed. "If had held onto him a lot longer, this never would have happened."

Baymax heard his sobs, he came out of his luggage and walked over to Hiro who had his back to him.

"I was alerted to the sound of distress. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Hiro's missing out on Tadashi being here for Christmas."

Aunt Cass' explanation directed Baymax to hug Hiro from behind.

"Tadashi is here," was what he had to say.

But Hiro had heard these words about a hundred times before, if not fifty. Dropping the pencil, he murmured in his Japanese.

" _Thank you,_ Baymax."

Baymax released Hiro from the hug and pointed his right index finger to the ceiling.

"May I suggest going out? A change of air will do you good."

"What could we do?" Hiro asked.

"Perhaps we can greet Christmas carolers and do some shopping for your friends."

Hiro's eyes held on Aunt Cass, knowing that both she and the robot had the same idea.

* * *

Hiro got on his coat, hat and mittens, gave an extra pair to Baymax and waved his aunt goodbye before going out to an open mall. There, from a TV shop window, the 1970 version of _Scrooge_ was playing, at the sequence of Albert Finney singing "I hate people". Hiro could almost resonate with Scrooge, but he knew that he would never be as despicable as he was at the beginning of the story. In spite of the misandristic song that filled his ears, perhaps Hiro did need a distraction from Tadashi, like getting a present for his aunt…but what?

A skillet that only had a cost of $7.99 looked perfect for Cass to cook some bacon and eggs in and Hiro knew that she would add it to her own collection of these items, but another thing caught his eyes. A knife that reminded him of the time Aunt Cass got caught up in an underground cooking competition. Then he saw a cat figurine that reminded him of Mochi and a balloon of snow that reminded him of Baymax.

"Look Baymax, it's your distant cousin!" Hiro tried to joke.

But he looked behind to see Baymax being surrounded by a pack of five little children, (three boys and a pair of girls) surrounding him and treating him like a snowman when the oldest boy tried put a carrot in between his "mouthpiece".

"A carrot is something you should use for eating rather than for the impromptu nose of a snowman," Baymax informed the children in a cutely manner.

Then he looked up to Hiro.

"Hiro, these children seem to think I am some sort of snowman. Please help me to correct them."

At this moment, Hiro's mood went sour.

"Baymax. I have decided that I want to be left alone. You have this uncanny knack for acting like a kid and I don't want to lose you again after last time. Without you, I won't be able to make merry myself at Christmas and I won't be able to make Aunt Cass merry, too."

"Nevertheless," Baymax replied. "There are also some children less fortunate than you who are in need of family, and if they are not giver proper nourishment, some of them are even dying."

"If they are dying," said Hiro, "They had better do it, and decrease our fears of overpopulation. Besides…if they can't be with their families, then neither should I."

Hiro stormed away as a gust of snow began to sprinkle into the mall. He continued walking down the street with a negative opinion of himself, and in a more upsetting temper than was usual with him. As the negativity began to grow inside him, Hiro's walk turned into a run.

The snow and darkness caused by the setting sun began to thicken. People ran about to catch their trains, buses and trolleys, reminding Hiro of how warm he used to feel before the showcase changed his life forever. Unable to run anymore, he found sanctuary on a park bench and sat down, letting his tears freeze in the cold as the trees tinkled frozen dew drops. He clasped his hands together, not just for warmth, but for a prayer, a prayer of hope and desire. One that would eventually allow him to talk to his brother again.

"Tadashi….can you hear me? Christmas isn't the same without you…so I'm begging you…please, please, _please_ come home."

He shut his eyes tight, wishing a lot more. Then when he opened them he saw…the same face: the very same. Tadashi in his short tidy hair, usual jacket, pants and sneakers, the laces bristling like his hair.

Hiro, shaken by the vision, stood up from the bench and saw Tadashi's solemn face more closely. A large red circle covering the area of his left eye. If Hiro didn't know any better, he would have thought that he would make a good impression of Prince Zuko from the _Avatar_ franchise.

"Hello, Hiro"—Tadashi's voice, no doubt about it.

"Tadashi, it is you," said Hiro raising his voice to excitement. "Would you like to sit down next to me?"

"Sure, since it's obvious I won't be able to hug you."

Tadashi sat down on the left-hand side to Hiro, as if he were quite used to it in his current state, allowing Hiro to look him over.

"Is that a burn?"

"Yes, an unfortunate reminder of the fact that I tried to save _someone_ who didn't need saving."

Hiro didn't need to be told exactly who was to blame, he just shook it out of his mind and proceeded to ask.

"What are you even doing here, Tadashi? Are you supposed to be the Ghost of Christmas Past?"

"Somewhat. As well as the present and the future."

The names brought up warning bells in Hiro's head.

"I think I know just what you have in store for me."

"Like what?" Tadashi asked.

"Taking me on some kind of magical trip showing what things were and will be like?"

"Pretty much."

Tadashi waved his right hand as he said this, and the clocks seemed to stop before turning backwards, 20+ times over. Then it stopped and what Hiro could see was the same, except the ads, cars and phones were older, from a time he could only remember from about…ten years ago.

"Care for a stroll down memory lane?" asked Tadashi, in the manner of a gentleman.

"Sure."

Hiro felt uneasy about this, but he kept a stiff-upper lip and propelled his body into Tadashi's transparent arms. They walked all the way back to the Lucky Cat Café where a familiar sight awaited Hiro through the windows.

"Do you remember this?" Tadashi asked.

"Yes," Hiro squinted his eyes, "That's me and you the year after Mom and Dad got…wrecked in that crash."

The Younger Cass strolled into the living room. She was holding Mochi in her arms and kneeling down to the two brothers opening up their gifts.

"I remember what I got on this day!" Hiro exclaimed excitedly. "A red Sky Racers toy. And you got a book on medical stuff from Dr. Sheila."

"Yes." Tadashi smiled. "It was she who helped me to inspire Baymax, remember?"

"Of course, I do. And I think it was around that time you actually started conceptualizing Baymax along with your other projects."

"And I studied medical care before that, in case you forgot. But enough of the past, Hiro, why not we go back and see how the gang is doing?"

"Can't we stay for at least four more minutes?" Hiro felt like living this memory. "It's not like we're gonna change the past. These are just shadows right?"

"Yes," nodded Tadashi. "But there's no time like the present."

The swirling of scenery took them to someplace warm, yet out of view despite the invisibility. It was the room of Fred at Lee Manor, where the man of the house himself, the two girls and large Afro were sitting in beanies to cups of hot chocolate while the 1988 film version of _Scrooged_ was playing on the TV. Given the familiarity of this scenario, Hiro seemed to know that the quartet would not be able to see or hear him or Tadashi.

"How's about we throw some wreaths around? You know, make them like one of those toys where you have a hope and have to throw them onto a stick? I forget the name."

"It's not the same without Hiro," Go-Go had to confess and the latter two members of the quartet agreed with her, sharing her sorrow as they stared depressingly into their cups.

"Miss Cass told me that Hiro was just too mopey to come out of his room," Honey Lemon was saying. "It's like he doesn't care about Christmas."

"Of course, he does," Wasabi argued.

And this took Hiro's words right out of his mouth.

"From what Tadashi told me," Wasabi resumed. "Hiro loved spending Christmas with Tadashi. It was their favorite time of the year."

"Still, I hope the little guy won't be spending Christmas being haunted by Tadashi's ghost, maybe that'll make him feel better."

Honey found it funny, so she laughed. Go-Go thought it disrespectful, Fred laughed as well and Wasabi just smiled as he continued to sip his hot chocolate.

"Still," Go-Go answered. "It wouldn't hurt if we all tried to make him feel better."

"Indeed!" Fred cried effeminately. "I've got a ton of jokes I'd like to tell him and Baymax."

And speaking of Baymax, he was apparently the first person Hiro saw when the scenery changed, planting some lilacs in the vast graveyard up north. Behind him in the black of mourning were Aunt Cass and the gang.

"Whose lonely grave is this?" Hiro asked Tadashi.

Tadashi's face went grim and he looked down to his brother with a solemn voice.

"It will be yours if you don't meet the same fate as me."

"Running into a burning building unprepared?"

"No."

Tadashi shook his head.

"Suicide. Without me, you couldn't bare having to suffer another Christmas, so you threw yourself off the Golden Gate Bridge."

Hiro's pupils shrunk.

"He was so lonely," they could hear Aunt Cass whimpering. "At least he's happy now."

But what Hiro felt was irony.

"NO! I can't be happy dead…"

He looked back to Tadashi.

"…and I can't be happy without you."

Then Tadashi smiled.

"But you can, if you keep me in your heart."

Hiro's tears began to leak from his eyes and they turned to ice with the windy temperature. But it seemed like a smile was starting to form across his pouty lips and as much as he wanted to chastise Tadashi for throwing his life away, he gave his brother a big hug and waited for the return.

When it came, he was back on the bench, looking around and bewildered. There were no signs of Tadashi, but his words were starting to sink into Hiro's head and he knew exactly what to do. He got up, rushed back to Baymax at the open mall and before the robot could even speak, Hiro chose his words.

"Baymax, can you call my friends please? I want to invite them and their families over for Christmas dinner at the Lucky Cat."

"A most astute decision Hiro," Baymax intoned. "I will contact them right away."

* * *

The word of Hiro's request soon spread, the four heroes were asking if their families if they would attend and when they said yes, they all headed to the Lucky Cat. At the dinner table, they had pudding, turkey, cranberries, sugarplums and other Christmassy foods to satisfy their stomachs. Mr and Mrs. Miyazaki, Honey's parents, brought in salsa and chips of red and green and Wasabi brought in a small bowl of wasabi that his parents brought along from the sushi place. Fred brought some Rankin-Bass Christmas specials and Go-Go gave Hiro the card that even Karmi would think little of giving him.

And as Hiro looked up to the sky on that Christmas night, all he could think about was Tadashi, his dream and all the happy Christmases they spent together. His alabaster skin conflicted between cold and warm as he closed his eyes, thinking about those memories. Then he opened them again, looking up at the brightest star he ever saw. It seemed very likely that it was someone he knew very much.

"Merry Christmas, Tadashi."


End file.
